Monthly Archives: July 2014

Did you hear that Facebook was manipulating what some people saw in their accounts as part of a big experiment? Users were in uproar. And then the dating site OKCupid admitted this week that it was doing something similar. Now, it’s not nice to conduct experiments on people without telling them. But… … Experiments can…

One of the benefits of using email newsletters is that you get stats, including the number of people who have opened them. But… I’ve been saying for some time that you shouldn’t focus on email newsletter open rates. It’s the wrong metric to watch. And it could be misleading. There are two reasons. First, it’s…

Here’s a little tip for you. If you join our newsletter service around now, you’ll get access to three months of newsletters during your free trial month. July is still available, so if you move quickly you could send it out this month. August is available (it was published a couple of weeks ago). And…

My newsletter company isn’t the right fit for everyone. Indeed, I would rather turn clients away than sell to someone we can’t help. For example, take Melissa, who left us on Thursday. She sent out her first email newsletter and got lots of engagement – a bunch of opens and reads. But… she didn’t get…

Here’s a story that could happen only in England. A fight has broken out about the shape of teabags. One manufacturer makes them round in shape, the other like a pyramid. The pyramid guys claimed in ads that the pyramid shape brews better tea. The round guys complained, and so the dispute went into arbitration.…

My hot water heater is broken. So it’s vaguely warm (if that) showers for me right now. Not so pleasant. There’s a point to me telling you this… because your prospects are a little like my morning water – they’re only vaguely warm when they first come into contact with you. … And it’s up…

So, there’s this crazy idea in the works to split California into six states. They say it will make it more governable – a government for each of the regions of California, each with its different needs. Never going to happen of course, but there’s an interesting point to be gleaned from it for our…

The other day, not far from where I live, a great big bulldozer fell off the back of a truck and landed on its butt in the middle of the road. There it sat, looking like a dog begging for scraps. The picture made page 3 of the newspaper. Odd – incongruous – things like…

Here’s a concept that could make a big difference to your business: client lifetime value. While many people think of only the first transaction, the reality is that successful agents think of the total value of transactions that a client could make over his or her entire lifetime. So, if you earn a gross commission…

I helped to reunite a lost dog with its owner yesterday morning. On the morning radio show (for those new here, I host the breakfast show twice a week on the local volunteer community radio station), we put out the call. And by 8.30, the dog was back with its family. That’s what community radio…

I’ve been down in the weeds lately, talking about particular aspects of marketing with newsletters. So I thought I would go back to the big picture and talk about how newsletters will make you more money. The bottom line is this: Newsletters help you build and maintain a database of leads and clients. By communicating…

Someone in Ecuador has dug up an earthworm that was five feet long. Imagine the fish you could catch with that thing! But seriously, fishing is a good metaphor for hooking clients. First, you’ve got to be out there on the water. Many people stop marketing when times are good, which leads to no clients…

I had someone ask how to get around anti-spam laws yesterday. I replied to him, but not very well. So I thought I would write about it here. Here’s the bottom line: Don’t try to “get around” anti-spam laws. There’s no point playing a game of cat and mouse and trying to escape the clutches…

It’s been raining around these parts recently. Bathtubs of rain. Roads-washed-away rain. Indeed, our driveway now has a mini-Grand Canyon running down it. You could lose a car down that thing. That’s the power of water. It runs and it runs, gradually creating a channel for itself as it finds the path of least resistance.…

A bird feeder made from a patio umbrella. An old door transformed into a headboard. And a picnic table molded into a sculpture of a giant yellow mosquito. These were just some of the entries in my local municipality’s “repurposing” content, designed to show how everyday junk can become something useful and beautiful instead of…

Yesterday morning I couldn’t find my keys. Same thing happened a few days earlier. And the previous week. …And don’t even start with my cellphone. Yes, people can be very forgetful. A potential new client reminded me of this fact yesterday. He told me how people would forget that they had hired him in the…

We’ve just finished the radiothon at the community radio station I volunteer at. I was on air for about four hours. Exhausting… but we raised over $29,000. Well worth the effort. The whole thing was one big “ask” – we need your money, and this is why it’s important. It was no place for a…

If you’re a parent (or an uncle or aunt, for that matter), you’ve no doubt had to convince a child to eat his or her dinner. But whatever you do, no Brussels sprouts or “weird tasting stuff” is going into their mouths. Now, of course, if you had chocolate to feed them… it would be…

The New York Times, no less, has weighed in on email newsletters. Apparently, email newsletters aren’t dead. Indeed, they are on the march, says The Times’s media writer David Carr. Well… Duh…. Like we could have told you that already. But here’s the thing: The article makes a point that is critical to your success…